Some people can have an adorably high level of admiration for people whose profession is widely recognized for their successes or failures. Sometimes this admiration even leads to absurd behavior that can offend celebrities.
A group of researchers conducted a study to examine the relationship between admiration for celebrities and intelligence level. In the study, multiple online tests were used to assess the cognitive skills of the participants. At the end of the study, it was seen that individuals with high admiration for celebrities had lower intelligence levels.
Is admiring celebrities associated with low intelligence?
In the article published in BMC Psychology, it was suggested that people who are obsessed with celebrities have a lower intelligence level than those who do not admire celebrities. The research team measured the participants’ “crystalline” and “fluid” intelligence with a variety of cognitive tests. A “celebrity attitude” survey was conducted to measure the interest of individuals in celebrities. In the research, various response options were offered, ranging from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree” to statements such as “I often feel obligated to learn about the personal habits of my favorite celebrity” and “I am obsessed with the details of my favorite celebrity’s life”.
Answers given by individuals; self-confidence levels were evaluated together with data about their education and financial wealth. As a result of the research, adoring rich and famous people and thinking about their lives was associated with low intelligence level. It is unknown whether low intelligence is the cause or consequence of the celebrity obsession. Based on the results, the researchers concluded that “individuals with strong cognitive abilities are able to recognize the marketing strategies behind a celebrity, so they are less likely to have a celebrity-worshipping level of admiration.”
After the New York Post published the related news on Twitter, many users commented on the research results.
Reactions from Twitter:
“Apparently everyone knew but them”
“Like this celebrity?”
“*Except Taylor Swift fans”
“So they’re reviewing the wrong people. Real celebrity-oriented people can read up on Pete Davidson’s dating history over the past 15 years, know the background to every Taylor Swift song, and tell you which house in Toluca Lake belongs to whom. It’s a massive brain exercise.”
“Celebrity obsessed” is a very vague term. Keeping up with pop culture doesn’t mean you’re obsessed with celebrities, so how do we identify when someone is obsessed and if their intelligence is directly affected by that obsession? Faulty logic.
“I don’t like celebrities or the concept of idolatry, but is it a little daunting to assume that those who do it are stupid? Maybe these people do it by copying the mechanism, because they’re doing it to deal with family problems or something like that? That’s why I would talk to fictional characters.”
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